


Final Season

by AnimeBookAddict



Category: yuri on ice
Genre: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Romance, VictUuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-05 21:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11021670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnimeBookAddict/pseuds/AnimeBookAddict
Summary: Yuri decides to retire as a competitive figure skater, so this season will also be his final season on the ice. But what will happen when things don't go as planned?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if there are any mistakes (spelling/grammar). Feedback is appreciated.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Yuri on Ice.

It had been four years since Yuri moved to Russia, following Victor, who had decided to come back as a competitive skater, and two of which they had been married. They had gotten married after Yuri had succeeded in winning a gold medal at the Grand Prix Final. 

There really weren’t any big changes in their lives after they got married. They were a little bit more affectionate in public, though for Victor this had never been a problem, and Yurio would give a few more snide remarks but aside from that, everything was the same. They were already living together before getting married and their relationship wasn’t exactly what you could call a secret. Everyone knew they were together and they didn’t mind it one bit, well maybe except for Yurio. But all in all, everyone was glad to see them so happy.

Just a year ago Victor had decided to retire. He had won another several golden medals in the three years after his break, however he felt that Yuri and Yurio were quickly following in his footsteps. They were progressing so fast in their skating, it amazed him. He already knew this, of course, since the Grand Prix Final where both Yuri’s had broken his records. Deciding that he had had his time in the spotlights, he made the decision to retire, though he would still remain Yuri’s coach.

They were in the middle of practice at the ice rink in St. Petersburg. Yuri was having trouble with the execution of a quadruple salchow and no matter how much he tried again, he couldn’t land the jump. Victor knew that Yuri had something on his mind, it was only then that he messed up his jumps. As his husband he knew Yuri would talk about it when he was ready but as a coach he had to be strict.

“Again, from the top. Focus, Yuri.” he said.

Yuri did his routine from the top, but instead of getting better, it got worse.

“Your free leg was sloppy after your second jump. You also need more speed for the quadruple salchow and you over-rotated during your combination jump.”

Yuri was disappointed in himself. He was a 27-year old professional figure skater and he could still mess up the easiest jumps. And now, that jump was the salchow.

Seeing the look on Yuri’s face, Victor suggested taking a break.

“Why don’t we stop here for today? We can start again tomorrow with a clear head.”

Yuri didn’t give a response.

“Yuri, we both know that if something’s on your mind, you mess up your jumps. And when you mess up once it gets to you and you mess up other things. By the way, resting is also very important, so let’s go home and start again tomorrow.”

A little reluctantly, Yuri gave in and together they went home. When they got home they had dinner, went on a walk with Maccachin and watched a film. All the while, Yuri was very quiet. Finally, Victor decided to ask what was on his mind. 

“Yuri, you’ve been very quiet. What’s on your mind?” he asked, being as straightforward as always.

“N – Nothing. I – I haven’t been quiet. I’m not being quiet.” Yuri said in a panic.

Victor looked at his husband with that look and Yuri knew that he wasn’t fooled. Who would be? He was an open book. 

He looked away from Victor and said in a small, almost inaudible voice, “I was thinking about retiring.”

Not having heard what Yuri had said, Victor asked, “What?”

“I said I was thinking about retiring.” He said a little louder.

“What? Why?!” Victor asked with a shocked expression on his face.

“There are many new and young skilled skaters. I mean, look at Yurio. He is only 19 and already has achieved so much. He surpassed me a long time ago. I mean, he taught me how to do a quad salchow when he was only 15 and I still mess up that jump.”

“What are you talking about? Yes, Yurio is talented but so are you. You are amazing as a skater and as a person. Just look at what you have accomplished! Especially these last four years!” Victor said.

“There will be enough other and more talented skaters to take my place when I retire. Skaters who have achieved more or will achieve more than I have.”

“Is this your insecurity that’s talking? It is, isn’t it? How often do I need to tell you that you are great before you’ll start believing it yourself?” Victor said, not willing to let Yuri retire. “Was this what was on your mind? The reason that you couldn’t land your jumps?”

Yuri didn’t answer, which was the only thing Victor needed to know that he had hit the nail on the head. 

There was a moment of silence. Yuri decided to break it and was the first to speak.

“Would you be mad if I retire?” he asked uncertainly.

Victor looked Yuri in the eyes and said, “No, I wouldn’t be mad. I would be sad, though.”

Victor kept looking at Yuri and he knew that Yuri had made up his mind. He could tell by the look in his eyes. 

“Can I do something or say something to change your mind?”

“No, you can’t.”

There was a small pause.

“Besides, I already accomplished my goal. I got to skate on the same ice as you these last three years.” Yuri said with a smile on his face. “And you can help by giving me the best program for my last season.”

While Yuri said this, he grabbed Victor’s hands with his own and had a smile on his face like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. 

“Of course.” Victor said with a fond smile on his face, while he squeezed Yuri’s hands as to show him that he would stand by him no matter what.

When all was said and done, they went to bed. Yuri fell asleep almost immediately. You could see that he was relieved: a weight had been lifted from his shoulders and Victor wasn’t mad. 

Victor was lying in bed. He was watching his sleeping husband, a fond smile on his face. Of course, he was sad that Yuri would retire. Who wouldn’t be? Yuri was the kind of skater you could just watch all day and still be entranced by, even on the off chance that he messed up. He looked at his husband and thought about how stubborn he was. This stubborn side of Yuri reminded him of himself. He could be as stubborn as Yuri, if not more so. There had been enough times when Yakov had made a comment about it.

Still a small smile on his face, Victor put his arms around Yuri and pulled him closer. After some time he fell asleep, thinking about what would be the perfect program for Yuri’s final season on the ice.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if there are any mistakes (spelling/grammar). Feedback is appreciated.

They had been practicing for months and now they were here: the Rostelecom Cup, also known as the Cup of Russia. This was the first event Yuri would skate in this season. His second event was the NHK Trophy in Japan and after that, if he managed to qualify himself, he would go to the Grand Prix Final, which would be held in the Netherlands at the Hague.

In this event he would be skating against Michele Crispino, Georgi Popovich, Leo de la Iglesia, Otabek Altin and Emil Nekola. Yuri had competed against them in previous competitions, so he knew what they were capable of. 

It was the second day, the day they had to do their free program. The order in which they would skate today, was determined by the score of their short program the previous day. The higher their marks, the later they had to skate.

First up was Emil. As had become a signature move for him, he had put a lot of jumps in his program. You could say that he almost had as much stamina as Yuri had. And despite the fact that he didn’t always land his jumps, as was the case today, you couldn’t help but be entertained.

Second up was Leo. His performance was very lively and in comparison to Emil, you could almost say that he didn’t have any jumps in his program. Though, the jumps he did had were perfectly executed. The strong point in his performance was, as always, his step sequence.

Third up was Georgi. His performance told a story. The story could differ for everyone watching it but no one could deny that, since his changed demeanour four years ago at the Cup of China, his performances always had that something special that would entrance anybody who looked at him. He performed with love and people were enchanted by it. You could be so wrapped up in looking at him that before you knew it his performance was over, just as this was the case today.

Fourth up, and the last person to skate before it was Yuri’s turn, was Otabek. When he was about to take his place onto the ice, he could clearly hear Yurio yelling “Davai!”. As always he answered with a thumps up. Since the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona four years ago, the two of them had grown quite close. And while Yurio didn’t participate in this event he came to root for Otabek, and though he would never admit it, also to support Yuri.

Otabek’s performance was phenomenal. A few years ago, Otabek didn’t stand out. He was just one of the many skaters. However, the last few years his performances were something that could be described as surprising. One moment, he could skate with a gentleness that you wouldn’t expect from, the next, he could be so fierce that you would think that you had imagined that gentle side of his. It was the same with his performance today and it was the reason why people couldn’t look away.

When Otabek finished his short program, it was Yuri’s turn. And despite being one of the older skaters, Yuri still had difficulty with controlling his nerves.

“Yuri, you got this. We practised for months, it’s going to be fine. Now go and make me proud.” Victor said with a reassuring smile as he grabbed hold of Yuri’s hand. After having said this, he kissed the ring on his finger as had become a habit whenever one of them had to go take their place on the ice. 

Yuri, still nervous, also kissed his ring. Giving Victor a small smile, Yuri went to take his place on the ice.

When Yuri had taken his place on the ice, his nerves were still there. The nerves telling him that this would be his last season so he needed to give his best performance yet. 

When the music started, Yuri began his program just as they had practised for the last few months. His jumps were perfect, his transitions amazing and his step sequence had everyone captivated. But somehow you could still see his nerves. 

He was about to start the second half of his program, which started with the quadruple salchow, a jump which he still had some problems with. Focusing so hard on the jump and thinking about that his performance needed to be as perfect as he could make it, he started into the jump with too much speed. He over-rotated and with the speed he was going, he was too late to realize it and put his arms out to break his fall. Instead he landed with his head on the ice.

It was normal that a skater fell at times and when that happened, the normal thing to do was to get back up and keep on skating like nothing happened until your program was finished. 

In the past Yuri had fallen a fair amount of times, everyone had seen it, but he would always get back up immediately. Today, however, he just kept lying there.

“Yuri, get up! Keep going!” Victor yelled, encouraging Yuri to go on. 

However, Yuri didn’t show any sign of getting up.

“Oi, Katsudon, what do you think you’re doing?! Get up and get skating!” Yurio yelled from the stands.

But Yuri still didn’t get up.

This wasn’t like him. Beginning to panic, Victor started to yell, “Yuri, get up! Yuri!”. His yelling became more and more frantic as he didn’t get an answer and saw that Yuri still didn’t give a sign of getting onto his feet. 

By this time, everyone at the ice rink, the staff, the skaters and the fans, were starting to panic. The music was stopped and two paramedics came onto the ice. Everyone was silent. When they reached Yuri, they laid him onto a stretcher. When they picked him up and made their way of the ice, there was a small trail of blood that could be seen on the ice. Seeing this, Victor panicked completely.

The two paramedics left the ice and Victor was immediately by their side. 

“What’s going to happen? Is he going to be okay?” Victor asked them hurriedly while grabbing one of Yuri’s hands, trying to think straight. Though, it was difficult to try and stay calm, seeing his husband unconscious with blood on his head.

“We need to take him to the hospital. Only then will we know what the problem is.” One of the paramedics replied.

They placed Yuri in the back of an ambulance, Victor got in with them. All the way to the hospital, he never let go of Yuri’s hand. And though he tried to remain calm until they had reached the hospital, the tears in his eyes threatened to fall.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any mistakes (spelling/grammar). Feedback is appreciated.

When they had reached the hospital, a team was on standby, ready to take Yuri to a room to see what was going on and to do some tests. Not being able to go with him, Victor had to let go of his hand. That was the moment his fear and panic took over. Fear and panic of losing Yuri. That was the moment that, though he tried to stay strong, a few tears fell from his eyes.

He wasn’t alone for long. Soon, other people arrived, worried about Yuri and wanting to know if he was going to be alright. 

Minako was one of the first to arrive. She always came to Yuri’s events if she could. Next to arrive were Yurio with Yakov, Georgi and Mila, seeing as they all trained at the same rink and had built a fairly strong friendship over the last few years.

The first thing Victor did when he saw them was cling onto Yurio and Yakov. That’s when he let his tears fall freely. Though, Yurio wasn’t the type to be hugged, he let Victor embrace him because now this was the only thing he could do to give some sort of support. He, too, was worried about Yuri and Victor hugging him had something reassuring in a strange way.

When Victor had calmed down a little, they all took a seat in the waiting room while Victor told them that there wasn’t any news yet. 

After some time Otabek also arrived. He wanted to know if everything was alright and he wanted to be there to support Yurio. The two of them had grown very close the last few years and he knew, despite that Yurio would never admit it aloud, that Yuri was a dear friend of Yurio.

Of course, with the event being broadcast live, everyone who had been watching had seen what had happened. Not long after they had arrived at the hospital, Victor, Minako, Yurio and a few others were getting calls, from friends and journalists alike, all asking what had happened.

They ignored the journalists. This was a private matter and had nothing to do with them. However, when Yuri’s parents called Minako, she had to tell them that there was still no news. She told them she would call if they got to know anything. When Pichit and Chris called, they, too, got that answer. It was only right to let his family and friends know what was going on.

Finally, after another hour, a doctor entered the waiting room.

“The family of Yuri Nikiforov – Katsuki?” he asked.

In the blink of an eye, everyone was on their feet.

“Yes.” Victor said. “That’s us.”

“To come straight to the point: Yuri had a wound on his head but it was nothing life threatening. We managed to stop the bleeding and stitched it. Besides that, he has a minor concussion. He is going to be just fine.”

“He’s going to be fine?” Victor asked as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“Yes, he is going to be fine.”

“Can we go see him?”

“He is still unconscious due to the anaesthesia but yes, you can go see him. Though, only two at a time.”

Everyone, feeling relieved, looked at Victor as if to say ‘go, we’ll give you some time alone with him’. The doctor then showed Victor to Yuri’s room. 

While Victor left to go see Yuri, Minako, feeling relieved, grabbed her cell phone to call Yuri’s family and let them know that he would be alright. She informed them on what the doctor had just told them. Pichit and Chris were also called to let them know the news.

When Victor entered the room and saw his husband lying there with a bandage around his head, he hurried to Yuri’s side. He grabbed Yuri’s hand, the one he wore his ring on, and kissed it. After kissing it, he held Yuri’s hand against his face and the tears just fell from his eyes. Tears of relieve, knowing that he would be okay.

After a little time, the others came in, one per one, to see how Yuri was doing. 

First was Minako, seeing that she had been his teacher and a close family friend for many years now. After some time, making sure that everything was alright, she left. 

After her Yurio entered the room. He sat next to Victor but didn’t say a word. He just looked at Yuri for a few moments and then he, also, left.

When Yurio had exited the room, he went back to the waiting room, just like Minako had done, and took a seat right next to Otabek.

“How’s he?” Otabek asked him.

“He’s just lying there. If it wasn’t for the bandage around his head you wouldn’t even say that there was anything wrong with him.”

After having said this, there was a small pause.

“How are you doing?” Otabek asked next. 

“Why would you ask that? It’s not me who is lying in the hospital. I’m perfectly fine.” Yurio said, though his remark didn’t come over as strong as he wanted to.

Otabek had known him long enough to know that Yurio, too, was suffering from this and that he was worried. He would never admit it and would act strong and indifferent, but he knew better. Deciding to do something but let Yurio keep his pride, Otabek, very subtly, grabbed one of Yurio’s hands and gave it a squeeze. A moment passed but Yurio squeezed back. It seemed he had needed it more than he had let on.

After that, Yuri’s room was empty, except for himself and Victor. Everyone had come to see him for a few moments but seeing that he was still unconscious, they couldn’t do much. It was almost an hour after the last person had left that Yuri started to wake up.

“Yuri, are you awake? Are you alright?” Victor asked as he saw that Yuri started shifting around, squeezing Yuri’s hand a little stronger between his own.

“Victor?” Yuri asked while blinking to adjust to the bright light.

“Yeah, it’s me. It’s alright, it’s alright. Everything’s going to be alright.” he said.

Finally having adjusted to the light, Yuri looked at Victor. He saw Victor holding onto his hand as if it was his life support and a few tears made their way down his cheeks. The next thing he knew, he was being engulfed in a hug.

“Don’t you ever do this again, you hear me. Don’t you ever do this to me again.” Victor said in a trembling voice while hugging Yuri as tightly as he could without hurting him. Yuri just put his arms around his husband and hugged him back.

After a moment he asked, “What happened?”.

Victor pulled back a little to look at Yuri and asked, “You don’t remember?”

Yuri thought for a moment.

“I remember it was my turn on the ice and doing a part of my program, but nothing after that.”

“Yuri, we’re in the hospital.” Victor told him. “You fell and hit your head on the ice after your salchow went wrong. They brought you here. Everyone was worried but the doctor told us that you’re going to be fine.”

Yuri needed a few moments to process what had happened. Though, he was interrupted by the doctor who came to check on him.

“Glad to see that you’re finally awake.” the doctor told him with a kind smile. “How are you feeling?” 

“I feel fine.” Yuri said.

“That’s good. Now, you had a head wound, we managed to stitch it and stop the bleeding so no worries there. You also have a minor concussion.” 

Both Victor and Yuri were silent. Victor because he knew this already and Yuri to let it all sink in.

“I understand you skate for a living?” the doctor asked him.

“Yes, I am. What has this to do with anything?” Yuri asked a little unsure.

“I am afraid that it has a lot to do with this. You can’t skate for the next couple of weeks.” 

“W – Why not?” Yuri asked, not wanting to believe what he had just heard.

“You need to rest. You have a head wound. If you go back to skating immediately and you fall, you can reopen the wound and it could be more severe than it is now. Also, if you were to fall, your concussion could become worse. So, for at least six weeks I can’t allow you to skate.” 

“But the season just started. This way I won’t be able to skate my events to qualify for the Grand Prix Final or the World Championship.”

“I’m sorry but I really can’t let you skate.” the doctor said.

There was a moment of silence. Both Victor and Yuri needed to process this. 

“After six weeks you’re allowed to go back to skating, but the more risky jumps need to be avoided for another few weeks after that. If everything goes well, you should be fine to compete next season.” He told them with a kind smile before leaving the room.

After letting it all sink in, tears started to fall from Yuri’s eyes. Within a heartbeat Victor had put his arms around his husband and pulled him close.

“This was supposed to be my final season.” Yuri said as he cried, clinging onto Victor.

“I know. I know. We’ll figure something out.” Victor said while rocking Yuri back and forth, trying to comfort him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any mistakes (spelling/grammar). Feedback is appreciated.

Three months had passed since Yuri’s accident. Three months since he heard that he couldn’t compete this season. 

The first six weeks after his accident, he wasn’t allowed to skate. Though, it was difficult, he had managed it. In those first six weeks he, also, had spoken with Victor about what they would do.

_“Victor, what should I do? This was supposed to be my last season and then this happens.” Yuri said in a sad voice._

_“I know, I know.” Victor said consolingly._

_There was a pause, both thinking about what they could do from here on out. Victor was the first to suggest something._

_“Why don’t you just compete next season? You can retire after that if you still want to.”_

_Yuri thought about it for a moment._

_“Won’t it be troublesome for you? I mean you’ll have to be my coach for an extra year. A year which wasn’t planned.” Yuri asked uncertainly._

_Victor liked the fact that Yuri, sometimes, could still turn into that insecure young man from four years ago._

_“Why would that bother me? You are my husband and you know that if it was up to me, you wouldn’t even be retiring.” he said with a smile._

_Yuri flung himself around his husband, happy to be able to stand on the ice one last time._

_“I’ll just have to think about two new programs.” Victor said while he placed his finger at his mouth, something he did when he was thinking about something._

_“What? Why?” Yuri asked. “I get that I’ll need a new choreography for my short program but for my free program I can use the one from this season. They only saw the first part and I like that program.”_

_Victor was a little reluctant, seeing as it was the quadruple salchow in this choreography that caused Yuri to fall. However, thinking about it and seeing Yuri so happy, he agreed with him._

_“You’re right. We’ll do it this way: a new choreography for your short program and we can use this season’s free program for next year.”_

After those first six weeks had passed, Yuri was ecstatic to get back on the ice to skate. He had missed it, even if it was only for a couple of weeks.

The first four weeks he went back to his training, they left out the more difficult jumps. Focusing mostly on the step sequence and the easier jumps and combinations. Though, Yuri had promised to avoid the more difficult elements for another couple of weeks, he wanted to start practising them again. He always had been fairly impatient.

So, the past two weeks, they had begun to start doing some of the more difficult elements in the program: his triple – triple combination, triple – single – triple combination and even a quadruple flip. However, Yuri wanted to practise all of his jumps, seeing as this time it definitely would be his last season, every element needed to be perfect.

Victor, however, was very reluctant to let him perform his quadruple jumps, especially the quad salchow. He was already doubting his decision of letting Yuri practice the quadruple flip.

Every time Yuri would come to him to suggest they practice the salchow, he would find an excuse and say that all the other elements needed to be perfect before they would get to practicing the salchow. 

After two weeks of these excuses, Yuri was tired of it. He wanted to practice and he wanted to practice good. So, when Victor told him to start his free program from the top but without doing the quadruple salchow, he ignored him. At least, he ignored the part of not doing the salchow.

When Yuri finished his performance, with the quadruple salchow, he looked at Victor to see what he thought about it. However, he only saw Victor with an almost angry look on his face. 

“Victor?” he asked uncertain.

“Let’s stop for today and go home.” Victor said and before Yuri had the chance to say anything, Victor had already left.

The rest of the day Victor didn’t say a word to Yuri. Not while they were walking home together, not during dinner and not during their walk with Maccachin. When they were getting ready to go to bed, Yuri, finally, decided to say something about it.

“Victor, is there a problem? Are you mad at me? Did I do something?” 

He didn’t get a response.

“Did I do something during practice?”

He still didn’t get a response. He thought back on when Victor’s mood had switched and realised it was, indeed, during practice. Thinking further back on it, he thought he knew what the problem was.

“Is this about the quad salchow I did during practice, even though you said I couldn’t?”

Victor froze for a moment and Yuri knew that he had hit the nail on the head.

“That’s all? You’re mad at me for practicing a jump?” Yuri asked a little annoyed. “That one jump is the reason you didn’t say a word to me all day? It’s just a jump.”

Here, Victor turned his head and looked at Yuri with such an intensity, Yuri felt his hair stand on end.

“’Just a jump? That’s all?’” Victor repeated Yuri’s words. “It’s not just a jump, Yuri. That jump was the reason I almost lost you!”

Yuri was taken aback by his outburst. He didn’t know what to do, how to react. Victor always was the type to stay calm, even on the off chance that they got into an argument.

“Three months ago, that jump landed you in the hospital. I thought I was going to lose you. In that moment my heart felt like it was made of glass and that with the tiniest push, it would break. And you say that ‘it’s just a jump’. Every time you want to practice that jump, I think it will turn out like three months ago: with you in the hospital. Only maybe, now they can’t save you.”

While he said this, tears had filled his eyes and a few had managed to escape.

Hearing this, Yuri made his way around the bed towards his husband and put his arms around him, enveloping him in a hug. 

He hadn’t known that he had felt like this these past few weeks. He felt guilty for doing the salchow, now that he had heard what was on Victor’s mind and how he felt. He could only imagine what it would feel like if your other half had an accident and was lying in the hospital while you were powerless and could only stand there and wait. He wouldn’t know what he would do, what he would feel if anything ever happened to Victor.

He tightened his hold on Victor and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I’m so sorry.”

There was a moment of silence. A moment when they just stood there, hugging each other.

Yuri was the first one to speak again.

“I don’t mean to hurt you but you do know that I’ll have to do that jump eventually, right?” he asked tentatively.

“I know. But I can’t help but be afraid. I just think that this time, if you fall, you won’t come back to me.”

“That’s never going to happen. You know I always come back to you. I mean, how could I not come back to you? So, don’t worry about that.” Yuri said, trying to comfort his husband.

After a small pause, Victor composed himself and said, “Okay, you’re right. Eventually you’ll need to do that jump so we need to practice it. However, we’ll do it on my terms. We’ll do it slow and step by step, I don’t want to risk anything.”

While saying this, he hugged Yuri a little tighter and pulled him closer.

“Okay, your terms.” Yuri said in a calm voice with a small smile on his face, happy that everything was out in the open and that they had worked things out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any mistakes (spelling/grammar). Feedback is appreciated.

After their argument, Victor allowed Yuri to practice all of his jumps. They started practicing from the beginning and at a slow pace. These were Victor’s conditions and Yuri didn’t mind. 

They used almost all of their time to practice. Seeing as Yuri couldn’t compete this season, they used the time, which was normally used for preparing for upcoming events, to practice. They made sure that both his programs were fine-tuned to the smallest detail. 

And after months of practicing, they were finally here at Yuri’s first event: the Cup of China. His second event was Skate Canada and if he managed to qualify himself, he would go to the Grand Prix Final, which this season would be held in Italy, Rome.

Last year Yurio had won the Grand Prix Final. Otabek had come in second and Georgi had become third. Yurio had also won the World Championship. 

Yuri knew that he would compete against strong skaters, that was always the case, and he knew what they were capable of. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Despite that and his fair share of nerves, both he and Victor had a good feeling about this upcoming season. 

In this event he would compete against Yuri Plisetsky, Minami Kenjirou, Lee Seung-gil, Pichit Chulanont and Jean-Jacques Leroy.

The short programs had come and gone. Two things of that day stayed in Yuri’s mind. The first thing was Minami being overexcited because he finally had a chance to skate against Yuri in one of the events leading up to the Grand Prix Final. The second thing was Yurio coming up to him before entering the rink and saying, “Oi, Katsudon, don’t think I’ll go easy on you just because you had an accident last year”.

Yuri was glad to hear this. Yurio had given him a compliment, even if he didn’t know it himself. You see, most of them knew that if Yurio went easy on someone, he didn’t see them as a threat. Besides, he would never expect Yurio to go easy on him, or anyone for that fact.

Today was the second day of the event. The day they had to perform their free program. Like usual, the higher you were ranked by your short program, the later you had to skate your free program. The ranking was a surprise to some people.

First to skate his free program was Seung-gil. Though his skating was amazing, he still had some trouble with his facial expressions. This, of course, was one of the reasons he couldn’t always tell the story like he was supposed to. However, people still enjoyed watching him.

Second to perform was JJ. This was surprising seeing as the previous years he had always been one of the last to perform his free program. However, this season, because of his confidence, he had wanted to do a little too much and his short program wasn’t on the same level as everyone was used of him. 

When it came to jumps, it was all perfect but his components were less good than previous seasons. He had focused more on showing what he could do instead of telling a story. So, he didn’t score that good on presentation. Normally, he was able to combine both fairly well.

His free program went a lot better. At the last moment he had decided to leave out some of his jumps and the people seemed to appreciate it, getting more and more enthusiastic as his performance went on.

Third up was Minami. His free program was up-beat and fun to watch. The audience was clapping along with the music from the moment it started until the moment it ended. And even though it was lively and fun to watch, it wasn’t meaningless. You could still see the story he wanted to tell unfold before your very eyes. 

Fourth up was Pichit. From the very moment the music started, the people were drawn to him. He always performed with such enthusiasm and pleasure, it was quite obvious why he had become Thailand’s first well-known figure skater. When you watched him, it didn’t feel like four minutes. On the contrary, it was so fun watching him that it seemed that it was over in the blink of an eye.

Fifth up was Yuri. Before entering the rink, Victor grabbed Yuri’s hands and kissed his ring. Yuri did the same. 

“Show them what you got for your final season. Go and make me proud.” Victor said with a smile on his face.

“I will.” Yuri said while squeezing Victor’s hands. Then they let go and Yuri went to take his place on the ice.

When the music started, everyone went quiet. They recognized the music. This was his music from last season. The season he got hurt.

Everyone held their breath while watching him, because seeing the beginning of his program they realised he wasn’t only using the music from the previous year but also the choreography.

“What a surprise! It seems that Katsuki Yuri is using his free program from last year. The program which caused him to fall and the cause he was unable to compete last season. What a risk he takes to perform that program again. Hopefully, nothing goes wrong this time.” Morooka, the announcer, said.

Victor had been nervous when Yuri had started his program and hearing the comments about the accident and the risk Yuri was taking now, didn’t exactly calm him down either. He watched Yuri very closely and to him, Yuri didn’t seem frightened.

When he watched Yuri skate, he saw that he had completely surrendered himself to the music. It was like he was making the music. Everyone was watching him. They were captivated by him. However, they were also scared. They were scared because they knew that if he hadn’t changed the choreography, that jump was coming up.

Yuri was about to finish his step sequence, a sequence that had everyone captivated. After that it was time for the quad salchow. He was a little nervous but tried not to think about it.

The moment of the jump came and everyone was watching while holding their breath. No one dared to breathe. Victor was gripping the side of the ice rink so hard that his knuckles turned white. 

There was a moment of silence and then everyone was yelling and applauding, even though Yuri was only halfway through his program. He had landed the jump. Not only that, the jump was executed to perfection.

“He did it! katsuki Yuri, ladies and gentlemen! He took a risk and he succeeded. That jump was flawless.” Morooka said.

Victor, finally relaxing a little, lessened his grip. He felt relieved.

When Yuri’s program was finished, he was met with the most deafening applause he had ever received. He made his way to the kiss and cry and within seconds was engulfed in a hug by Victor.

“That was perfect. I knew you could do it.” Victor told him. “I’m so proud of you.”

When they pulled back from their hug, Yurio had already taken his place on the ice. As usual, his performance was one of high quality. The jumps were perfect and his step sequence was amazing. Nobody could look away. Everyone was watching him as if they were in a trance. It was like he took you prisoner with his skating.

When his routine was over, Yurio was met with a standing ovation. Victor and Yuri, also, were cheering for him on the side, as was usual for them. 

Yurio made his way to the kiss and cry with Yakov. Now all they had to do was wait for the jury to make Yurio’s results known. After this, they would know who had won the first event towards the Grand Prix Final.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the final chapter. I'm sorry if there are any mistakes (spelling/grammar). Feedback is appreciated.

The season was over. His final season was over. He felt relieved in a way, though he also felt a little sad to say goodbye to the competitive skating life. However, he had made his decision and he stood by it.

Yuri could easily say that his last season was one of the best he had had and he was happy he could retire on such a high note.

In his first event leading towards the Grand Prix Final he took second place. Yurio came in first, however the difference in their score was only a small 0.08. Minami had become third and was happy to share a place on the stage together with Yuri.

In his second event Yuri had won gold, almost improving his own personal record. Georgi came in second and Emil took third place.

The Grand Prix Final itself was quite exciting. All skaters put forth their best game and the performances were outstanding. To his own surprise, Yuri had won. He defeated Yurio with a difference of only 0.04 and went home with a golden medal.

After the Grand Prix Final he competed in the Four Continents. There he became third. It was Minami who had won that competition. Guang Hong had become second.

And finally, there were the World Championships. All skaters there were amazing. He even knew quite a few of them. He had given it his all and was very happy when he was awarded second place. Yurio, the genius everyone knew he was, had once again won gold. He was on his way to becoming the second Victor Nikiforov with all the titles he won and the scores he got. Georgi had become third, defeating Chris by a mere 0.02 points.

When the World Championships were over Yuri announced that he would retire. Many people, especially Morooka and Minami, were surprised to hear this. Not to mention they were sad. Yuri was a skater you could just watch all day and you wouldn’t get tired of it. He was a skater who told beautiful stories while he skated. He was one of those skaters you were drawn to and couldn’t help but like. To see such a skater go was a huge loss for many.

Now, a couple of years after his retirement, Victor and Yuri were sitting in the stands rooting for the now 25-year-old Yurio. 

In the last couple of years Yurio had become quite the legend. He had even surpassed the Victor Nikiforov. He won title after title, set record after record. His fans were as loyal as ever and since he had lost a little of his punk-attitude, he wasn’t as quick to yell or call out obscenities to them. He could still make his usual comments and snide remarks, but he had become better in controlling them.

While they were watching him skate they both had large smiles on their faces.

Victor turned to look at his husband.

“Do you regret it? Retiring so early now that you see him?” Victor asked his husband. “You could have been standing there right now if you had stayed a competitive skater.”

There was a small pause before Yuri turned towards his husband and answered.

“No, I don’t regret it. I’ve had my chance, now it’s his turn.” 

After saying this they turned back around to see that Yurio was about to finish his free program. Finishing his free program, he left the ice to go to the kiss and cry with Yakov, all the while receiving a standing ovation from the audience.

That night when Yuri and Victor were preparing to go to bed, they talked about the competition today: the programs, the results, etc. it always went like this. Though, they both had been retired for a few years already, they just couldn’t keep away from the ice.

And though they didn’t know it from each other, that night, while lying in bed, they both thought about returning to the ice rink. Not as skaters but as coaches.


End file.
